Rev. Bras. Med. Vet., 34(3):177-182, jul/set 2012 177 RESUMO. Objetivando preencher lacunas acerca dos mecanismos intrínsecos da biologia da oviposi- ção dos carrapatos ixodídeos, foram realizadas aná- lises da concentração e do perfl eletroforético das proteínas dos ovos de R. microplus e R. sanguineus QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE EVALUATION OF THE EGG PROTEINS OF Rhipicephalus microplus AND Rhipicephalus sanguineus (ACARI: IXODIDAE) DURING OVIPOSITION* Vanessa de Almeida Raia 1+ , Paulo Roberto de Carvalho Filho 2 , Adriana Rayol Pedrenho 3 , Walter Flausino 4 and Kátia Maria Famadas 5 ABSTRACT. Raia V. de A., de Carvalho Filho P.R., Pedrenho A.R., Flausino W. & Fama- das K.M. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the egg proteins of Rhipicepha- lus microplus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) during oviposition. [Avaliação quantitativa e qualitativa das proteínas dos ovos de Rhipicephalus microplus e Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) durante a postura]. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 34(3):177-182, 2012. Departamento de Epidemiologia e Saúde Pública, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, BR 465 km 7, Seropédica, RJ 23890-000, Brasil. E-mail: e-mail: vanessaraiaufrrj@gmail.com To fll in some gaps in the knowledge of the intrinsic mechanisms of the oviposition biology of Riphicephalus microplus and R. sanguineus, the protein variability in eggs according oviposition day was evaluated. Engorged females laid eggs in a controlled environment chamber (27 ± 1° C, 80 ± 5% RH, and darkness). As soon as the fema- les began oviposition, egg samples weighing 50 mg were collected daily, placed in Eppendorf tubes and preserved at - 20ºC. The protein concentration was evaluated by the Bradford method and submitted to analyses by SDS-PAGE. After normality of the data was excluded by the Shapiro-Wilk test, the data were transformed into logarithmic values [log (X+1)] and the protein concentrations were correlated with the oviposition days using Pearson’s correlation coeffcient (r). During oviposition the egg protein con- centrations of R. microplus and the days of lying were weakly positive correlated, while for R. sanguineus the egg protein concentrations remained constant until the last day. It cannot be inferred that the protein variation in the eggs of R. microplus is correlated with the oviposition day. The two tick species thus have different oviposition protein profles, which can be use as a phenetic tool. KEY WORDS. Tick, Posture, Electrophoresis. *Received on October 7, 2011 Accepted for publication on January 25, 2012. 1 Médica-veterinária, Dr.CsVs. Departamento de Epidemiologia e Saúde Pública, Instituto de Veterinária (IV), Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFFRRJ), BR 465 Km 7, RJ Seropédica, 23890-000, Brasil. + Autor for correspondence. E-mail: vanessaraiaufrrj@gmail. com - Capes/Faperj scholarship. 2 Médico-veterinário, M.CsVs. Serviço de Vigilância Agropecuária do Porto de Santos, Superintendência Federal de Agricultura, MAPA, Rua XV de Novembro, 122, Santos, SP 11010-150, Brasil. E-mail: carvalhoflhopr@gmail.com 3 Bióloga, D.Sc., Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Instituto de Biologia, UFRRJ, BR 465 Km 7, Seropédica, RJ 23890-000. E-mail: apedrenho@yahoo.com.br 4 Biólogo, PhD. Departamento de Parasitologia Animal (DPA), IV, UFRRJ, BR 465 Km 7, Seropédica, RJ 23890-000. E-mail: fausino@ ufrrj.br - CNPq fellowship. 5 Zootecnista. Dr.Med.Vet.Parasitol.Vet. DPA, IV, UFRRJ, BR 465 Km 7, Seropédica, RJ 23890-000. E-mail: kfamadas@ufrrj.br durante o período de postura. Fêmeas ingurgitadas de ambas as espécies efetuaram postura em estufa biológica (BOD) sob condições controladas (27 ± 1° C, 80 ± 5% UR, escotofase). Iniciada a postu- ra, amostras de ovos foram coletadas diariamente.